Staying Together Review

Staying Together is an adorable and unique indie game from Naquatic with a clever concept. The game is set between two lovers who want to stay together across increasingly complex levels. Beautifully designed, it is a challenging and rewarding mini-game experience for iOS (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad) and Android.

The game is built around a puzzle, based on the concept of two lovers, wherein every move you make is mirrored across both characters. If the man moves left the woman moves right and so on. To control both characters there are three simple controls. The three arrow buttons allow you to move left, right and jump. Unfortunately, these controls are fairly small and I often lost due to a mis-press as opposed to a legitimate cause.

The art is reminiscent of a 2D Minecraft or Terraria, and features similar, pleasant music. The character animations are simple, but frankly, it’s all very cute. There are nice trees, floating islands, heart pieces and the glowing goal area. Both characters have their own camera space, almost like split screen, which mesh when they get close together. Also if you are having difficulty with a level you can zoom out and look at the entire landscape, a useful tool to look at the entire level.

The gameplay is challenging but rewarding. In each mission, like many other iOS and Android games of its type, in Staying Together there are collectibles to grab in the form of heart pieces. After collecting enough hearts you can unlock hardcore mode. Unfortunately, some of the levels are more about analyzing just how quickly you can jump or avoiding spikes as opposed to the puzzle element. It can be frustrating when you know what you have to do, but not be able to do it. Hardcore mode, for expert players, introduces additional challenges to an incredibly difficult game.

Staying Together is a small game for in-between moments where you’ve got to kill a couple of minutes. With a moderate amount of replayability because of collectibles, achievements and the hardcore mode, Staying Together is a fun addition to anyone’s mobile library.

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Summary: Staying Together is a charming platformer from Naquatic. This challenging puzzle game may be taxing at times but you will love taking control of two different characters that mirror each other's moves. Download this game now on iOS (iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad) and Android.